Currently, work order sets used by automotive repair shops and dealerships consist of a bottom sheet of relatively stiff card stock and two or more upper sheets of relatively thin paper stock, all of which have applied to them a printed grid matrix for the entry of pertinent information such as the name and address of the vehicle owner, the date on which the vehicle is brought in for work, the work instructions, the signature of the owner, and so on. The bottom sheet is of thicker stock because it is the copy that will go to the shop and be handled by mechanics. Because of the grease and dirt generally found in such areas, it is necessary to make the bottom sheet of thicker stock that is more resistant to tearing. The other copies are for the accounting office and for the customer. Still further copies may be included for other related purposes, all such copies on relatively thin paper stock.
Conventionally, such work order sets are provided in a format that is compatible with computing facilities, with tear-off perforated strips along either side. When the strips are torn away, the various sheets can be separated.
The problem remains as to how to ensure that the work called for in the work order is carried out on the proper vehicle. Conventionally, this is taken care of by providing, entirely separately and independent of the work order set, a series of smaller cards which are perforated into three areas: a larger area containing a given number (typically four digits) of substantial size, a first smaller area which is a key tag and is intended to be attached to the vehicle key, and a second smaller area which is a claim check to be given to the customer. The larger area has a large aperture adjacent one edge, and the aperture is joined to the edge by a slit. The purpose of the aperture is to permit the larger portion to be secured to the interior rearview mirror of the vehicle. Conventionally, because the number on the separate perforated card is not found anywhere on the work order set, it is necessary to write the number on the set in order to minimize the risk of doing work on the wrong vehicle.
I have now recognized that it is possible to design a workset in such a way as to provide the identification tags as well, and this is the main aim of the present invention.